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This article was published 04/01/2023 (719 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jan. 6: BU student published in United Nations project

A Brandon University sociology major has had her writing featured in a special United Nations initiative designed to promote gender equality and equity in the Caribbean.

Amanda Hutchinson’s work will appear in the Caribbean Sheroes Initiative, a toolkit produced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Hutchinson wrote the article “The Positive Power of a Force Ripe Girl,” based on her childhood in Jamaica.

Force Ripe is a “very Jamaican term,” she said, referring to mangoes on a tree. When a mango is not quite ripe, sometimes the fruits facing the sun will turn an orange colour from sunburn, making them look ripe even though they are not.

“They’re forced ripe — they’re not ready, but they look ready,” Hutchinson said. “The term is so inherently Jamaican that I worried that it wouldn’t translate to people.”

She described how the idiom “force ripe” was used as a derisive term to define girls whose boldness of expression stepped out of expected societal norms. In Hutchinson’s case, it was her fondness for bright-red lipstick in her youth that caused her to be shamed by others.

In her essay, she explored how leaving her home in Jamaica to study in Canada helped her realize that being forced ripe should be viewed as a badge of honour, allowing her the confidence to grow and embrace challenges in her life.

Jan. 27: Fowl play prompts new Souris peacock flock

The current Souris peacock flock is singing its swan song after becoming a bird-en in town, prompting the arrival of a new muster this summer.

The fresh birds were sought out after a delegation appeared at a council meeting last summer to ask the town to take action against the spread of the peacocks, Souris-Glenwood Mayor Darryl Jackson said.

Peacocks have been leaving their Victoria Park home to make uptown Souris their own territory every summer. The birds roost among tall trees in residential neighbourhoods and in Souris’ downtown, leaving excrement in the popular areas.

The animals are also noisy during mating season in May, June and early July. They can also be destructive. Some have been known to preen near shiny cars. Sometimes they think their reflection is a competitor and will peck away at it. The damage has sent some car owners to the autobody shop, Jackson said.

He noted the birds have never been known to chase after anyone. The town has connected with a bird broker in Saskatchewan who will take the peacocks currently housed at a local barn in Souris.

The bird broker will take the fowl and have them placed in different areas of Saskatchewan. Souris will receive around a dozen new birds for the community after the old peacocks are gone.

Feb. 2: Cosplay creator wins Winnipeg Comiccon award

A Minnedosa-based cosplayer celebrated attending his first Winnipeg Comiccon by taking home the Best in Show at the expo’s 2021 Masquerade Competition.

Randy Collen’s massive cosplay armour measuring more than seven feet in height was inspired by his love of the tabletop game “Warhammer.”

Collen has been playing “Warhammer” since he was 12 and his passion has now spanned 20 years.

The “Warhammer” creation marks his first major cosplay creation.

“I was working eight hours a day on it, so I put in like 500 hours or more,” Collen said. Each day he was able to learn something new and adapt the project based on knowledge he gained.

The cosplay was mainly created out of foam floor mats, the type of floor coverings often seen in gyms. It was the perfect textile to work with because it is a malleable material that can be cut and bent into any desired shape.

March 3: Imagination Library launching Souris branch

Children in the Souris area will be able to add a new book to their home libraries every month — for free — thanks to an initiative spearheaded by two local moms.

Elizabeth Cancade and Chantal Peters launched a Souris affiliate of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, with a goal of inspiring a love for reading.

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library launched in 1995 in Tennessee, where the country music legend grew up. It has since grown to communities all around the world, and expanded to Canada in 2006. Every month, the child receives a new, age-appropriate book in the mail to add to their collection. The program is for children up to age five.

“I think it’s amazing,” Cancade said. “They mail out 1.8 million books per month around the world. Those are books that may not have made it into houses, so that is the number of active readers we have and that’s just so exciting, it gives me goosebumps. And to think of our town, and having 150-plus new libraries and registering kids as soon as they are born, it’s just fabulous.”

There are approximately 155 children under five years of age in the Souris postal code area, and Cancade said they hope to have each one of them become part of the program. Currently, there are 67 children registered. The first books will be mailed out in March.

March 17: Artist passing on skills to next generation

Sioux Valley Dakota Nation artist Roland Ironman has a prolific portfolio. People are bound to have encountered one of his logo, sign or mural designs while travelling around Westman.

One of his most recent projects has been painting the walls of the new Canupawakpa Dakota Oyate community hall, which have been adorned with hand-painted, brilliant star blankets and significant spiritual symbols after consultations with elders.

Ironman created the original mural in the old community hall before it was destroyed in a fire. One of his bigger initial projects was painting the inside of Veterans Hall in Sioux Valley.

Ironman is a ’60s Scoop survivor and saw his family split up, sending the siblings out of Sioux Valley through adoptions. He was the youngest and was taken away from home when he was six or seven years old.

Placed at first with a couple in Kola, he eventually returned to Sioux Valley. He took various local art classes, and then a two-year art course at Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School. He then studied sign painting at George Brown Community College in Toronto, and eventually launched a sign shop in Brandon in the early 1990s.

Ironman continues to work on signs and other projects, but is making more time to focus on his art and his community.

March 24: Minnedosa kids raise funds for Ukraine

A fundraiser launched by two Minnedosa children has raised more than $3,000 in support of Ukraine.

Stella Woodcock, 10, and Kiana Ternier, 11, were inspired to host a fundraiser in support of Ukraine after learning about the humanitarian crisis created by the Russian invasion.

The duo carefully crafted a booth and placed it in front of the Minnedosa Co-op on March 5. The fundraiser proved to be fun, Ternier said, adding she appreciated the Ukrainian music they were able to play in the background.

“There were a lot of people and I feel like a lot of people would have been pretty happy that they knew they have donated to help people,” Woodcock said.

As the day wore on they saw many coming out of the Co-op with arms full of donations for the fundraiser. Together they raised more than $3,000 and ultimately shipped out more than 620 kilograms of humanitarian aid items to Ukraine on Thurs day, March 10.

“Ukraine, they don’t really deserve any of this,” Ternier said, referring to the invasion, “and it really got our attention when we heard what was happening to them.”

April 7: Therapy dog helps youth develop literacy skills

Serving as a paw-sitive influence to help community youth enhance their literacy skills, therapy dog Jessie will be visiting the Western Manitoba Re gional Library Brandon branch each Saturday until June.

“She just loves people. She prefers people over dogs in the dog park,” Jessie’s owner, Earl Martin, said with a grin. “She wants to do [therapy].”

The duo has been engaging in therapy work for about four years, although their ability to connect with the community has been limited due to COVID-19.

Martin and Jessie were first introduced to the idea of therapy work when his father-in law was dying of cancer.

“He loved her. One of the last things he wanted to do was to say goodbye to her,” Martin said. “We snuck her into the hospital in a small town and the nurses kind of looked the other way.”

After seeing the positive impact of Jessie’s visit with his father-in-law, Martin was compelled to share her with the community. During her Saturday visits to the Brandon Public Library, Jessie will hang out with youth who are looking to grow their literacy skills.

Her specialty is helping some of the shy readers come out of their shells. The pair began working in the library in February as part of the Brandon and District Chapter Learning Disabili ties Association of Manitoba (LDAM) spring reading program for children. Martin said he hopes the program can continue to grow and include new youth so Jessie can make more friends.

July 7: Military rallies to support families during deployment

A dedicated team stands ready in CFB Shilo prepared to help military families navigate the day-to-day challenges of deployment do mestically or overseas.

The CFB Shilo Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) and Family Support Cell provide resources and programming for military families deployed as part of Operation Reassurance and any other operation.

“We really need connections as humans, but, while the member is deployed it’s really important that you stay connected to the member, as well as your support network here so that you are taking care of yourself,” said Cierra Stamper, deployment coordinator at the CFB Shilo MFRC.

A large part of Stamper and her crew’s job is to support families during military deployments. The types of support offered are dependent on what a family is looking for because each person’s needs are individual.

Regimental Duty Sgt. Jonathan Turpin, of 1 Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1RCHA), is part of the Family Support Cell.

Through his experience and ties with 1RCHA, he has seen common needs emerge over the years during deployment. For example, in the winter it can be something as simple as helping shovel a walkway to more critical issues such as child care support.

July 14: Refugees find safe haven in Carberry

From Kyiv to Poland, the Netherlands and finally Canada, one refugee family has found a safe haven and a warm welcome in Carberry. Modar and Mariia Al-Sharbaji were living in Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, when Russia declared war on their country in February.

Modar said that everyone at his company, where he worked in graphic design, was worried about the political climate and tensions with Russia at the time. They were instructed to work remotely for the next few days, never imagining that soon they would be fleeing for their lives.

With Russian missiles falling around their home, and in one case a shot down Russian airplane crashing into nearby residential buildings, the Al-Sharbajis realized they needed to make a move.

They fled to western Ukraine, then Poland and the Netherlands, before applying for the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel pathway and making use of a charter flight program which allowed them to come to Canada.

After landing in Winnipeg, the family connected with a Carberry-based committee dedicated to helping Ukrainian refugees settle in the community.

Aug. 25: Sunflower selfie field helping overseas hunger

Under an August sun, Dean Toews’ sunflower field is resplendent in shades of bright yellow, warm brown and verdant green.

For the second year in a row, the MacGregor-area farmer planted a “sunflower selfie” field.

Toews is partnering with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to raise money for that organization. Visitors can snap a selfie in the field for a cost while sup porting a good cause.

He says he’s hopeful that just as many people come out this summer to enjoy the field, located 92 kilometres east of Brandon, and take photos as they did last year.

Toews is also chair of Feed Other Countries Undo Starvation (FOCUS). He works with several other farms in rural Manitoba to grow crops, raise money and donate their proceeds to CFB.

He described himself as an “eternal optimist” — committed to continuing his efforts to help CFB. Seeing people enjoy his sunflower field and learn more about agriculture is an added benefit, he said.

Sept. 15: Marathon to recognize truth and reconciliation

Despite being busy with studying criminology and playing hockey at the University of Manitoba, Tréchelle Bunn has organized a half marathon to raise awareness about the legacy of residential schools in Westman.

Bunn, who recently returned from Europe, where she played exhibition games with the Manitoba Bisons, organized a similar event last year on July 1. The healing walk began at the site of the former Birtle Indian Residential School in the community of Birtle, located 145 kilometres north west of Brandon.

Bunn, a member of Chan Kagha Otina Dakhóta Oyáte, also known as Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation, said the 26-kilometre walk was a way for her to honour her great-grandparents who attended the school.

This year, Bunn teamed up with Dan Schwarz, who took part in last year’s walk with his family, to turn the event into an official Manitoba Runners’ Association-sanctioned half marathon, with a theme of “Movement is Medicine.”

The event is to be held Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and Bunn plans to hold it every year in honour of her community and her family.

Nov. 3: Happy Rock statue restored to former glory

After a much-needed makeover, the municipality of Westlake-Gladstone’s Happy Rock statue has been returned to its former glory, beaming and waving from its platform and welcoming all to the community.

The most famous landmark in Gladstone, located 106 kilometres northeast of Brandon, was in dire need of fibreglass repairs and a new coat of paint. The base of the structure the statue stands upon, which used to be a tourist booth complete with washrooms, also needed some TLC to fix water damage, despite it being closed to the public.

A tender was put out earlier this summer, and soon Elwood-McRorie Ltd., a general contracting company out of Portage la Prairie, got to work refurbishing the mounting plate and doing other repairs. ISAP Contracting, Sandblasting & Crane Service, a company from Dauphin, did the sandblasting and fibreglass repairs.

Both companies finished their work a few weeks ago, and Sheri Gregoire, assistant chief administrative officer at the municipality of Westlake-Gladstone, said the Happy Rock statue is looking better than ever.

“He looks amazing … it was needed. He shines pretty bright now. He’s not off-white or yellow [anymore],” Gregoire said.

Nov. 3: Women in agriculture shine at Manitoba Ag Ex

Research shows there has been an increase in female farm operators in the province, so it’s no surprise that women in agriculture were well-represented at the Manitoba Ag Ex, the largest all-breed cattle show that ran in Brandon from Oct. 26-29.

From 2016 to 2021, the proportion of female operators reported in Manitoba increased from 23.8 to 26.5 per cent, while the number of female operators increased from 4,785 to 5,150, according to Statistics Canada census data released in June.

This data was reflected in the real world at Ag Ex, with female producers proudly showing off their cattle and representing the hard work that got them to where they are today.

Tracey Wilcox of Treherne, located 124 kilometres southeast of Brandon, has shown Simmental and Speckle Park cattle at Ag Ex for more than 20 years. For the past five years, she has also been a barn boss, looking after an entire barn of cattle belonging to her and her fellow exhibitors.

While historically agriculture has been a male-dominated sector, Wilcox said that’s changing quickly.

“Nowadays, it’s switching over and the females are taking over. We’re doing all the stuff that the men used to do.”

Nov. 24: Westman educators recognized for history project

Two Westman teachers have won a prestigious national history award for a project that connected their rural students to their community through history and writing while allowing them to leave a legacy of their own.

Hartney School teachers Tracey Salamondra and Carla Cooke have won a 2022 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The teachers are being recognized for their collaboration on a project that connected their students to their community through historical research and authentic writing.

In their first semester, a team of eight Grade 11 students partnered with the Elgin and District Historical Museum, which gave students freedom to study their materials.

In their second semester, they learned the craft of storytelling as they put their original research and interviews into historical narrative. Then came editing and fact-checking.

As a result of their work, 23 placards were installed along the Whitewater Park interpretive trail, each connected with a story written by the Hartney School students.

As of press time, Salamondra and Cooke were preparing to travel to Quebec City for a special ceremony at the Citadelle of Quebec in which they’d receive the award from Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.

» Compiled by Ian Hitchen